


Please, Wake Me from This Nightmare…

by iZombi



Series: Gloryhammer One shots and Headcannons [12]
Category: Gloryhammer (Band)
Genre: Angst., Comfort, Crying, Dizziness, Fluff, Gen, Horrible Memories, M/M, Memories of the Past, Nightmares, PTSD, Panic Attack, Panicking, Past Memories, Screaming, Sweat, TAGGED AS EXPLICIT FOR VIOLENCE, Vomiting, and death, clamminess of the skin, elevated heart rate, horrible dream, shaking, suffering from a nightmare, waking up in a start
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:21:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29665143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iZombi/pseuds/iZombi
Summary: Ser Proletious has always suffered from the most horrendous and daunting nightmares, so much so that he’s never truly learned how to deal with them other than crying himself back to sleep at night. However, tonight’s nightmare was so vivid that he can’t get a hold of himself and it spirals into a panic attack, which Ralathor has to help him ease out of…
Relationships: Ser Proletious (Gloryhammer) / Ralathor (Gloryhammer)
Series: Gloryhammer One shots and Headcannons [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2072421
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Please, Wake Me from This Nightmare…

**Author's Note:**

> TW: PANIC ATTACK
> 
> RATED EXPLICIT for PANIC ATTACK, DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE, AND DEATH..
> 
> **DISCLAIMER: The events that occur within are based on my own experiences with panic attacks and medical/health knowledge on how to assist someone during a panic attack.
> 
> IF YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS STORY MAY CAUSE YOU TO HAVE A PANIC ATTACK OF YOUR OWN, THEN PLEASE REFRAIN FROM READING AND EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN READING.

Ser Proletious’ eyes were moving rapidly under his eyelids, his breathing was slightly quicker than the usual, and his heart was beating at a mile,

He was suffering from yet another nightmare,

It wasn’t uncommon for him to _not_ suffer from them on occasion, as his past as a retired Knight of Crail now constantly haunted him and loomed over his shoulder like a family curse,

_Proletious watched on in horror from one of the castle’s windows, as the headquarters for the Knights of Crail was being invaded by the army of an opposing faction of knights,_

_He had heard of them before, they were called the ‘Daedri’,_

_They were a group of knights who were controlled by a grand lich wizard named ‘Mor Khazgur’ his current place of residence was unknown,_

_Many speculated that they lived in a once inhabited academy for the dark arts, or perhaps it was a haunted castle? No… maybe it was in the mountains? Oh, who knows,_

_However, what people did know, was that this lich had been terrorizing various places across the galaxy as it had grown in power over the years, feeding off of the strength and arcane magic of wizards who had sought it out to slay it,_

_Many feared that one day all of their lives would be at stake if someone didn’t stop the damn thing,_

_But, as of right now, Proletious’ biggest worry was to get the other Knights of Crail to safety and out of where they currently were,_

_“Sir! What do we do?” asked one of the knights to Proletious, a younger man who was only aged sixteen,_

_Ser Proletius quickly looked around the room in a panic, he could feel his pulse in his ears, and the thudding of his heart against his armor,_

_That was when he spotted it… a hidden staircase that was just barely visible, hidden behind a bookcase,_

_He approached the bookcase and pulled on a book, the mechanizations whirred to life as the bookcase slid to the side, revealing the entrance,_

_Proletious pointed inside of it, “Here! Let’s head upstairs to the roof, where we shall ride on the griffons, get out of here and regroup with the rest-!” he commanded, grabbing the hands of one of the knights that stood next to him as he stepped inside of the small entrance,_

_Hurriedly, Proletious and a small group of thirteen knights, all of whom were behind him, ran as hard and fast as their legs could carry them through the narrow passage,_

_It was horrible, you couldn’t stretch in the cramped space as the walls were right beside you, the feeling of claustrophobia was at its ultimate high,_

_Heart pounding and sweat pouring from his forehead, he and the others finally made it to the roof, they pushed open the door just in time to see two of the seven griffons get crushed beneath the feet on an elder dragon,_

_The scaled beast didn’t see the men who hid behind the door, instead, it roared loudly as the other griffons were getting ready to attack,_

_Proletious swallowed hard and gripped the hilt of his sword, of which rested on his hip inside of its scabbard,_

_He knew that he couldn’t fight the dragon alone, instead, his eyes focused on what was keeping the griffons secured to the ground, it was a long and thick rope,_

_He knew that if he wanted to escape here alive, that he would have to cut the griffons’ bindings and get on it quickly,_

_He nodded his head, agreeing with himself on his plan, he turned his head to face the men behind him, “Gareth, Ywain, Brân, come with me, I require the use of your swords to cut down the bindings of the griffons, we must free them in order to escape-“ he explained,_

_The four men nodded, agreeing to the plan,_

_“-The rest of you, stay put, on my signal I want all of you to run out and get on a griffon, no more than three on each, understood?” he looked to all of them, the rest where a mix of young and under-experienced knights, aged between sixteen and eighteen, essentially children, but he trusted them and they trusted him, so he held onto his faith that they’d be safe,_

_He, Gareth, Ywain, and Brân were the only four elder Knights of Crail, each with at least fifteen to twenty years of service, the best of the best,_

_Proletious nodded, “Alright, follow me, the rest- stay…” he commanded as he quickly opened the door and made his way out,_

_There he found that not only were the griffons trapped with a dragon but so were some of the other mythical creatures that the Knights kept as part of their line of defense; the hippogryphs, domesticated wyvern, and drakes._

_He was happy to see that the domesticated wyvern and drakes were doing their part in fending off the dragon,_

_This was good, as it would give them enough time for the beat to stay distracted as they worked on freeing the griffins,_

_Proletious and the other three men moved quickly, each one taking one griffin and they all began working hard at hacking and slashing at the rope, slowly they were making progress,_

_Freedom would soon be theirs,_

_That was at least until Proletious heard just as he and the others finished removing the rope, the bone-crunching sound of the dragon swallowing up one of the larger drakes in its massive maw,_

_The sounds of the bones shattering were akin to that of popcorn kernels popping in high heat and oil,_

_“ **SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!**_ ”

_It makes Proletious’ skin crawl whenever he heard the sound,_

_Suddenly he sees one of the other knights, Gareth, make a motion to someone as if indicating to them that they should remain hidden,_

_This caught his attention and he turned his head over to where Gareth was looking and saw him trying to tell the other younger knights to stay hidden,_

_Proletious was about to say something to Gareth, for him to stop when suddenly a huff caught all of their attention,_

_It was the dragon who had finished devouring the drake,_

_The beast’s attention was drawn to where Gareth was looking as it has spotted the shine and reflection of the silver metal of the young knights’ armor,_

_It craned its neck back and huffed as a bright red glow was beginning to form in its throat, a clear indication of what hellish fury it was intending to unleash,_

_Proletious couldn’t do anything as he watched on in horror,_

_The reptilian beast unleashed a searing hot fire from its maw, aimed directly inside the small passageway where all the young knights were, its flame broke off slightly as it hit the surrounding wall of the structure of the doorway,_

_Even though he stood a measly fifty feet away from the dragon, he too could feel its hot flame on his body, he could also distinctly feel his armor heat up, the heat was unbearable,_

_As the dragon finished riding its flame into the passageway, all that Gareth could see were now charred corpses of the former men they once knew, they look of pain and anguish forever imprinted in his mind,_

_Gareth turned his attention to the remainder of his friends, he shouted for them to get on the griffins and to “…J ust fucking leave!” he shouted,_

_Proletious’ body was acting faster than his brain could process, one minute he was on solid ground, the next he was on the feathered beast that spread its wings open wide and galloped off the edge of the tower,_

_Plunging itself down into the air, eventually, it swopped up effortlessly and flew through the wind, steadily gaining speed and distance as it fled from the castle,_

_Suddenly, Proletious felt the same hot wave of heat behind him and he turned his head behind him to look,_

_He saw a beam of fire aimed directly between him and his friend, it forced the griffins to split formations,_

_They were now easier targets to pick off since they weren’t packed tightly together in formation,_

_He watched as a stray arrow killed Ywain, striking the man in the head, it pierced his skull perfectly, through and through…_

_The man slumped over on the griffin and soon his body slid off, falling below onto the raging battlefield that surrounded the castle grounds,_

_Over to his right, he heard Brân cry out in pain, he was being attacked by what appeared to be dragonlings,_

_Brân was desperately trying to swipe at the tiny annoyances with his arms all the while being nipped at, although small, a dragonling’s mouth was filled with small razor-sharp teeth that looked like needles in comparison to their adult forms,_

_He watched in horror and Brân lost his balance and slipped off of the Gryphon, he too was plunged down into the air, falling to the ground as the dragonlings chased after him,_

_Only he and Gareth remained, and they both sped as fast as they could to beyond the battlefield with their griffins,_

_Until both beasts were shot out of the sky by the lightning bolt of a wizard from below,_

_Proletious’ body froze, the volt of electricity ran through his whole body, it shut off his nerves, his body was temporarily unable to move, he was like a brick falling down onto the ground,_

_And he could see the cold hard floor getting closer,_

_And closer,_

_And closer,_

_And cl-_

Ser Proletious sat upon his bed, he let out a scream of terror, heart beating fast in his chest, rapid breathing and covered in sweat,

His body was still both groggy and on fight or flight but he didn’t exactly know where he was, so his body panicked and he began hyperventilating,

His chest felt like it was being crushed by a boa constrictor, he couldn’t get a single breath of air in,

Every time that he gasped like a fish out of water for air, he could feel the pain in his chest intensify,

His head was also getting dizzier by the minute, he felt like he was on a boat, his head swaying from side to side,

Which gave him nausea, he felt like shit, like he was dying,

_Was he dying?_

_Would this be his undoing?_

_Is this how his life would end?_

_In a dark room, not knowing where you are?_

Ser Proletious felt his hands' tingle as he breathed hard for air, he felt like he was right on death’s door,

When suddenly the door to his room swung open and in stepped forth a bipedal creature, it looked humanoid to Proletious untrained eyes in the darkness,

He prayed that whatever it was, that it would take him now and spare him the pain of future suffering,

He silently cried as he watched it approach him,

“Proletious? Are you ok? What’s wrong?” asked a voice,

he recognized that voice,

‘ _Ralathor?’_ he thought vaguely, he couldn’t quite really process what was going on as his brain still thought that he was in mortal danger, and was having a hard time speaking,

When the lights were turned on, Proletious was able to see that it in fact was Ralathor,

His ever-enigmatic wizard friend, one of which he cared deeply for,

Proletious whimpered when Ralathor grabbed him gently, enveloping the man in a small, yet non-constricting hug,

“Easy… easy… you’ve got this, just focus on my voice…” he began, voice calm and gentle,

Proletious closed his eyes and focused hard on his voice, his body shaking as Ralathor held him,

“You can get through this… alright? You’ve got this, you’re strong, I know that…” Ralathor spoke, caressing the man’s bald head and back gently and in a loving manner,

“Here-… I’ll count to ten slowly and you try to match your breathing to mine, alright?” he instructed as he placed one of Proletious’ hands on his chest, near his lungs so that the other could feel how he was breathing,

Ralathor watched Proletious nod and slowly as he began counting to ten, he felt and watched as Proletious tried to steady his breathing,

“Concentrate on your breathing, stay in the moment” Ralathor instructed,

Proletious did just that as he breathed,

They did this for almost ten minutes until Proletious was no longer breathing erratically,

The other man was now slumped over and desperately holding onto Ralathor’s shoulder as they grew tired and weaker by the minute, the panic attack having taken everything out of him, sapping him of his energy,

“I am so proud of you… good job…” praised Ralathor as he watched Proletious,

“Now… tell me what you need now…” he asked,

“…y-…y-ou..” Proletious confessed finally after a moment of silence,

“Ok… what do you want me to do?”

“S-…S-St-a-ay…” his voice was meek and unsteady, possibly due to exhaustion,

“Ok, I’m not going anywhere… I’ll stay here with you…” Ralathor cooed,

Proletious sighed as he felt Ralathor hold him, he let out a whimper as he felt more tears begin to fall down,

“What’s wrong?” Ralathor asked, voice still gentle,

“H-…H-Hu-ug… m-me? Pl-Pl-Please…?” Proletious asked as his voice broke off mid-sentence, he was overwhelmed with emotion now that his body was calm and he was breathing normally,

Ralathor nodded and held the man in a warm and secure embrace,

Proletious closed his eyes as he sobbed onto Ralathor’s shoulder, he could still see Ywain’s face in his eyes as he died,

He could still hear Brân’s final scream as he fell from the sky,

And he could still hear Gareth and his students’ screams of terror as they all died,

“ _I-I k-k-killed them, a-a-all o-of th-th-them!”_ Proletious wailed as he remembered his instructions to go to the roof,

Ralathor didn’t need to say anything, because he knew of what Proletious was talking about, he had heard of what happened to the Knights of Crail and why they had to disband them due to only having one surviving member,

He had heard all the details, and it was no surprise to him that Proletious still felt guilt after all these years over that incident,

He held onto the man and tried comforting and calming him down as best he knew how,

It took nearly four hours for Ralathor to finally calm Proletious, the man was currently asleep, tucked in his bed holding onto a small bear plush that Angus had hand sown for him on his birthday,

He looked peaceful, damp and red cheeks still stained with his tears, eyes puffy and exhausted,

Ralathor yawned, he knew that it would only be six more hours until Zargothrax, Hoots, and Angus would all be roused up and ready to begin their morning endeavors,

And right now, what he wanted was for Proletious to rest well, but so did he want to rest for the first time in a long while in his life,

However, instead of leaving his friend’s side, he remained seated in the only chair in the room that was by a desk, next to Proletious’ bed, he crossed his arms and crossed one leg over the other,

Ralathor was a patient man, he would stay awake and by his friend’s side to watch him as he rested, keeping vigil over him if he woke have yet another nightmare,

For this time, he could use his powers to change the dream into that of something more peaceful and tranquil,

One that would rid him of the pains of his past,

_At least temporarily_ …


End file.
